Vehicles are receiving an increasing number of wireless services, such as cellular phone service, satellite radio, terrestrial radio, and Global Positioning System (GPS) service. As additional wireless services become available, a vehicle must be equipped to accommodate the different types of signals. Many of these services require separate antennas to receive different radio frequencies. When designing antennas and antenna enclosures, designers focus on cost, aesthetics, and aerodynamics.
Conventional antennas typically have a single module that includes multiple antenna receiving elements. Each antenna element receives a different service or connection at a given frequency. With the expanding number of supported cellular telephone frequency bands, cellular antennas are becoming larger, more complex, and costlier. Furthermore, recent LTE performance enhancements can only be realized by introducing two or more additional antennas. As the size increases, the aerodynamic drag increases, which may cause wind noise and/or reduce fuel economy.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide vehicles and systems that can reduce the size and cost of antenna modules. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.